


Surrender

by PrincexofxFlowers



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Brief description of illness, Brief hospitalization due to injury, Duo Maxwell is a good bro, During Canon, First Kiss, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Getting Together, Ignores certain parts of canon, Light Angst, M/M, Mentions of other gundam pilots, Post-Canon, Quatre Raberba Winner is a saint, Trowa Barton is a disaster, Yes I say that knowing he blew a colony up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28156149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincexofxFlowers/pseuds/PrincexofxFlowers
Summary: “That wasn’t a confession.”Duo raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Sounds an awful lot like one to me.”“It was an admission. I knew I was important to him even though he hadn’t said anything. He knows he’s important to me.”Duo rolled his eyes. “Fine. Have you admitted that to him in return?”Trowa looked down. “No.”“Why don’t you start there and see where it gets you. Start small if you want. Kiss him back for once.”Trowa thought over that for a moment.“This is the part where you restore my faith in your intelligence and say that you do kiss him back sometimes. Please tell me you’re not that clueless about this.”“I haven’t though.”---Quatre likes smooching Trowa and Trowa likes getting smooches but it takes them a while to talk about it
Relationships: Trowa Barton & Catherine Bloom, Trowa Barton & Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton/Quatre Raberba Winner
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	Surrender

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this before I actually got to the part where Quatre blew up the colony ~~and Trowa~~ and I haven't actually finished the whole anime yet so there are probably many parts of this that aren't canon compliant but I just really wanted to write something fluffy for these two because I love them.
> 
> Enjoy!

Quatre was an affectionate person. This was never a fact that escaped Trowa, or anyone for that matter probably. It wasn’t hard to notice.

From the moment Trowa stepped out of his gundam, hands raised in surrender, he could see it plainly on Quatre’s face. It was soft and open and his eyes shone more than they should have in the shadow of the two gundams. Trowa only had to stare at him for a moment before he thought ‘Oh,’ and that was all he needed.

He was proved correct in his assessment in the following days when Quatre quickly grew comfortable enough to sit next to him during meals or when Trowa sat down to read in an attempt to pass the time while repairs were made to Heavyarms. He was always polite and mindful not to invade Trowa’s personal space but he was also always close and Trowa could tell it was only Quatre’s considerate personality and his own air of indifference that kept a few feet of distance between them.

Trowa conceded, after a surprisingly short amount of time, that he really didn’t mind them- Quatre himself, or his affectionate personality. If he was being honest he wasn’t sure what made him decide that, or when exactly he did, but he realized it one morning when Quatre mentioned he was going to play his violin. Trowa, having nothing better to do, followed him to the practice room and simply stood by, listening to Quatre’s unsurprising skill; He didn’t seem like the kind of person who would allow himself to be bad at a hobby.

It hit him suddenly, in the middle of a crescendo, that he didn’t mind this- standing around while Quatre did his own thing, which is really all Quatre had been doing for him since he’d arrived; standing by, giving him space, offering company but never pushing it.

So he grabbed the flute that he’d spied in the cabinet when Quatre had pulled out his violin, and started playing it.

Quatre stopped playing and stared at him and Trowa just knew that he’d understand what he was doing.

It was an olive branch of sorts; An unspoken way to say that he would spend time with Quatre, as opposed to just letting him be near without pushing him away.

Quatre soon started playing again, and Trowa didn’t miss the small, sincere smile on his face. He understood.

Quatre took the duet for what it was: Permission. Any time they saw each other after that and the occasion allowed for it, Quatre stood close to him.

Or sat next to him.

Or patted him on the back.

Or placed a supportive hand on his arm.

Or fell asleep on him.

Duo unsuccessfully tried to stifle his giggles when he saw them the first time it happened. They made quite a picture, he was sure. Quatre spread over the couch, head propped against Trowa’s shoulder and Trowa himself ignoring the blond, his slowly numbing arm, and Duo, in favor of reading his book.

As soon as Duo was gone though, Trowa slouched down a bit to ease the angle of Quatre’s neck against him. 

The kisses didn't start until near the end of the war.

The first time Quatre kissed him was after a couple months of having not seen him. Trowa stepped off of the transport shuttle and nearly straight into Quatre’s waiting arms due to how close he was standing to the door waiting for him to come out. However, instead of the standard- longed for- hug he expected, Trowa was greeted by Quatre grabbing both of his shoulders and pulling him down to place a kiss on both of his cheeks.

It wasn’t intimate, Quatre’s lips didn’t linger over his skin and the kisses themselves were a bit over dramatic, but it was disorienting. He’d blinked a few times, which thankfully went unnoticed by Quatre who had finally pulled him into a hug, and thought ‘I guess that’s a thing now.’

Because with Quatre there was no going back. Once given the go ahead to express his affection he didn’t stop unless told to and… Well Trowa certainly wasn’t going to tell him to.

Objectively he knew they didn’t really mean anything. He’d seen businesspeople and politicians- people of high standing- greet each other like that hundreds of times. Quatre, who was a delicate mix of all three of those, was simply greeting him like any of his other peers would. 

Well. Any of his other peers except the other gundam pilots but that went without saying.

Trowa wasn’t sure he’d ever been kissed by anyone before that. His cheeks tingled the rest of the day and well into the night and he wondered if that was going to be a new norm for him. If Quatre greeted him like that every time they saw each other would he always feel so alarmingly blindsided by it? Or would he get used to it? Would his nerves survive it?

His questions went unanswered for a while after that because Quatre didn’t kiss him again for several months.

He’d gone off on a solo mission and it went south fast. They weren’t sure he’d make it back to them. Hell, Trowa wasn’t sure he’d make it back to them. He wasn’t entirely sure how he did. He just remembered sitting, battered and bruised past the point of coherency, in the nearly crushed cockpit of a stolen pod, and thinking about how tightly Quatre had held him when he whispered ‘good luck’ in his ear before he left.

And then he was ‘landing’ (he’d insist this later no matter how much Duo said it barely qualified as a controlled crash) in the hangar and stumbling out, and there was Quatre running towards him, looking so scared and so vulnerable that it stunned Trowa for a brief moment which was all the lapse in focus his legs needed to give out on him.

Quatre caught him well enough to ease his fall, landing harshly on his knees, but he didn’t pay them any mind, opting instead to hold him so tightly to his chest that Trowa would have protested that it hurt his already aggravated injuries had he not been desperate for physical contact, a sign that he was alive and out of that pod… Comfort.

“Don’t you ever pull something that dangerous and foolhardy again, Trowa Barton, do you hear me?!” Quatre yelled, his voice trembling as much as the shaky hand carding delicately through his hair, presumably searching for injuries. “You scared me to death!” He pressed a frantic kiss to the top of Trowa's head then, feather light and wary of his injuries, but definitely there, and Trowa wanted to comment on it- wanted to ask for another.

But he couldn't get his mouth to form words, could barely keep his eyes open.

“Trowa? Trowa stay with me okay? Duo went to get Sally- he's bringing help, so you gotta hold on!”

Trowa gave a weak groan. “Kay…”

“Oh thank goodness, you can still speak,” Quatre breathed out in a rush. He pressed another kiss to the top of Trowa's head, a little firmer than before.

With new determination, Trowa opened his mouth again, intent on saying something about the increasing frequency of kisses he'd received since they met. “Quat...re…”

“Yes? Don't push yourself too hard to talk, okay? Can it wait?” Quatre pulled back enough to look down at him with concerned eyes and Trowa smiled weakly up at him.

Then he threw up.

Then he passed out.

\-----

Trowa didn’t wake up so much as he did slowly become aware of his surroundings. He couldn’t move his left arm and he felt a pull in his right hand that suggested he was hooked up to something. He was on a hard surface but he could feel a blanket draped over him so wherever he was was at least moderately friendly. His whole body hurt in a dull way that promised a sharper pain should he try to move. He’d really done it this time.

He carefully opened his eyes, only small slits at first to take in where he was. 

The infirmary.

Trowa let the tension bleed out of his body and opened his eyes the rest of the way. He was familiar enough with this room that he knew he didn’t have to have his guard all the way up.

He did a quick assessment of his situation and his surroundings. He wasn’t surprised by the cast around his left arm or the sling binding it to his chest, or the fluid dripping into his bloodstream through an IV in his right hand.

He was also unsurprised to find Quatre curled up in a chair next to his bed, asleep and drooling slightly. He knew from experience the only reason Quatre wasn't holding one of his hands was the fact that both were ‘off limits’ being covered in a cast or home to an IV. 

Trowa stared at him for a long moment, taking in the dark circles under his eyes and his rumpled clothing, and he wondered how long he'd been unconscious. Quatre was usually unflappable- a picture of composed grace, but all bets were off when someone he cared about was hurt. 

He worried.

Another fact that wasn’t hard to notice.

Quatre shifted in his sleep and the open book he’d had precariously laying in his lap slid off and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

Trowa winced slightly and Quatre sat bolt upright, eyes immediately darting to the door and then around the room. His eyes landed on Trowa then flicked away and then shot straight back to him. “You’re awake!” he said, pleasantly. “When did you wake up?”

“Just now,” Trowa assured. “How long was I out?”

Quatre looked at his watch. “A little over sixteen hours. I’m a bit surprised you’re already up, actually. You looked pretty rough.”

“I feel pretty rough.”

“I’m sure.” Quatre’s eyes were swimming with worry, concern written plainly on his face but losing out to the open understanding he radiated.

Trowa took it all in, the worry and the care, and the way he could see Quatre’s fingers twitching, wanting to reach out. He held out his right hand, a clear invitation for Quatre to take it, which he wasted no time in accepting. “I threw up on you.”

Quatre blinked, taken aback for a moment, before he smiled. “I’m sure I’ll manage to forgive you eventually.”

“I really am sorry. I was trying to ask you something.”

“The mission was a success. The only person hurt was you, and Sally says you’re going to be fine after you get some rest.”

“That’s good to know but that wasn’t what I was going to ask you,” Trowa said, amusement clear in his voice.

“Oh.” Quatre blinked again, surprise evident on his face. “What were you going to ask?”

“You kissed me.”

Quatre’s face went red so fast it was a little concerning. “Ah… That’s… not a question.” He looked down at where his thumb was tracing around the tape keeping Trowa’s IV in place on his hand.

Trowa shifted so he could lean forward to catch Quatre’s eyes, tugging lightly on the hand Quatre was holding to get his attention. “It’s not a complaint either.”

Quatre didn’t even try to hide his relieved sigh.

“I was just thinking that the number of kisses I’ve gotten has increased dramatically since I met you.”

Quatre furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s still not a question.”

“No, it’s more of an observation. I’m not actually sure what my question is or if I really have one. I just…”

“I haven’t kissed you that many times!” Quatre diverted, picking up on the fact that Trowa needed more time to organize his thoughts. “I’ve done it twice!”

“Four times,” Trowa corrected. “You kissed both my cheeks and then two more times just before I passed out. Two instances, yes, but four kisses.”

“I… didn’t realize you were keeping track.”

Trowa shrugged. “You were too.”

Quatre huffed out a small laugh. “Touchè.” He looked back down at their clasped hands, thumb resuming it’s tracing motion over the tape on Trowa’s hand, and Trowa watched him for a while, the comfortable silence easing his thoughts.

When he felt sure in what he wanted to ask he squeezed Quatre’s hand briefly. “I just want to know why.”

“Why?”

Trowa nodded. “It seemed like it started out of the blue.”

Quatre shook his head and lifted Trowa’s hand off the bed, cradling it delicately between both of his own. “Because you’re important to me.” He pressed a kiss to Trowa’s knuckles. “And I was tired of pretending you aren’t.”

Trowa said nothing, but for once it was because he couldn’t find words and not because he simply chose not to share them. He stared at Quatre for a long moment, certain that his face was loudly displaying whatever it was that his brain couldn’t process.

“That makes five, right?” Quatre grinned cheekily.

It was a thing after that.

Trowa found himself getting kisses from Quatre almost every time they saw each other. And he’d thought four was a dramatic increase.

Quatre would kiss his cheek in greeting or as a goodbye, he would place kisses in between Trowa’s shoulder blades when he hugged him from behind, he even, on one occasion, kissed him on the nose when they’d been arguing over something stupid. Trowa was too flustered to continue talking so Quatre claimed the win for that argument.

Trowa wasn’t sure when, maybe it was when he found himself instinctively leaning down a little bit to allow Quatre easier access to kiss his cheeks upon meeting, or maybe it was when he started smiling for seemingly no reason at the prospect of getting to spend time with him, but eventually Trowa realized that they were… together… Probably.

Neither of them had said anything but Quatre wasn’t exactly going around kissing anyone else and Trowa wasn’t sure he’d like it if he did.

He wasn’t too desperate to put a name to whatever was going on though. It didn’t affect anyone outside the two of them and they were both perfectly fine with how things were so Trowa didn’t really see any reason to stew over it.

He was in the hangar one day, doing a standard maintenance check on Heavyarms, and the more he worked the more he decided he might need a haircut. He was used to his hair constantly being in his face and it never bothered him, but lately it was too much even for him. A trim was definitely needed. He’d have to ask Cathy next time he saw her.

Thinking of Cathy reminded him that last time he’d been with her she’d shoved several bobby pins into his hands and asked him to hold them for her. She never asked for them back and Trowa had yet to take them out of his pocket so maybe…

He stuck a hand in his pocket and found that they were indeed still there. It would do. He pulled a few out and set about pinning his hair back out of his face. He’d never used bobby pins before but he didn’t particularly care how ridiculous he’d end up looking. The only other person in the hangar was Duo, who would certainly laugh if he saw, but if Trowa kept his head down and finished soon, it would probably go unnoticed.

He worked in silence for several more minutes, listening to the sounds of Duo working on his own gundam and throwing out comments, more to fill the quiet than to actually start a conversation. It was just how Duo was and Trowa had grown used to it. He even appreciated it sometimes.

The door to the hangar opened and Quatre’s voice cut through the air. “Trowa?”

“Over here, Quatre,” he called, finishing up what he was working on quickly.

Footsteps approached him and stopped a little ways away, waiting patiently for Trowa to emerge from the compartment he was inside.

When he finally did crawl out and stand up, greeting poised on his tongue, he was cut off by Quatre’s outburst.

“Oh my gosh, Trowa, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Duo’s head pop up quickly, concern on his face with an undercurrent of eagerness for gossip, but Trowa was more focused on figuring out what Quatre was talking about.

“What?”

“This is so important! How could you not tell me?”

Trowa felt his eyebrows furrowing in confusion, “Quatre, what-?”

Quatre cut him off again, this time by cupping his face in both hands and standing on his toes to place a kiss in the middle of Trowa’s forehead. “You have a forehead!”

Trowa blinked, unable to school his face into anything besides stunned surprise.

“I’ve never seen it before!”

“... Oh…” Trowa managed after a long moment.

Quatre grinned cheekily at him and kissed his forehead again for good measure, before dropping his hands and smoothly shoving them in his pockets. “Catherine called. You were supposed to call her last night and she got worried.”

Trowa’s brain quickly latched onto the new, much easier, topic to think about. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. “I completely forgot.”

“Apparently.” The smile on Quatre’s face could be heard in his voice but Trowa opened his eyes to see it anyway. “She didn’t seem mad if that helps. She just wants you to call her back when you get a chance.”

Trowa nodded. “Okay, I will.”

“Good,” Quatre grinned. “I’d hate to have you on her bad side. We’d never find your body.”

Trowa agreed.

“That was all I came here for. Have fun finishing up maintenance,” he patted the part of Heavyarms closest to him- a leg- and then turned to leave. “See you later!”

“Yeah,” Trowa replied lamely.

He watched Quatre leave and the doors had barely closed behind him before Duo was next to him, cheeky grin on his face.

“So how long has that been a thing?”

“What thing?”

“‘What thing?’ He says,” Duo scoffed. “How many things could I possibly be talking about here?”

Trowa shrugged, and turned to organize the tools he had sitting out. “How many things are there?”

“Oh trust me. There are many things. Many many things.” Duo nodded his head sagely. “But I know you know which thing I’m talking about otherwise you would have said ‘I dunno.’ Or you would have ignored me.”

Trowa ignored him.

“Oh no, Buddy, it’s too late for that now!” Duo cried, striding around and bending to force Trowa to look at him. “You and Quatre? That thing? Ringing any bells here?”

“We’re not a thing.”

“He just kissed you! And you let him!”

“He just does that.”

“Not to me! Or anyone else! And not only did you let him kiss you, you also turned into a flustered wreck because of it!”

“He’s never kissed my forehead before, alright? Sue me I blanked out for a second.”

“Ten,” Duo interjected. “I counted. You shut down for a solid ten seconds. I could practically see the error messages floating across your eyes.” He held his hands up in the air as if framing the words. “Processors failed. Reboot system.”

Trowa rolled his eyes.

“Is it new? Have you guys been disgustingly cute and domestic behind closed doors this whole time and we’re all just embarrassingly oblivious? Do Heero and Wufei know? Am I the only one out of the loop here?”

“There’s not a loop, Duo!”

“Well there’s certainly some looping cause it’s definitely not straight.”

Trowa cut him a look but it must not have been very menacing because Duo just snorted.

“Come on, that was good.”

Trowa shook his head. It was but he’d never admit it out loud. 

“You’re seriously not a thing? He just kisses you sometimes? You have to know how unbelievable that sounds, Trowa.”

“And yet it’s the truth.”

“Huh.” Duo crossed his arms and shifted his weight back and forth between his feet for a moment, thinking. “Have you talked about it?”

Trowa shrugged. “Sort of.”

“How do you sort of talk about something?”

“I asked why he started kissing me and he said I was important to him.”

“That sounds an awful lot like a thing to me. What did you say back?”

Trowa looked at him for a moment. “Nothing?”

Duo gaped at him.

Trowa stared back.

“You’re serious.”

“Yes?”

Duo dropped his head into both of his hands and groaned, moving his hands up through his hair to hold his bangs out of his face. “Holy fuck, Trowa.”

“What?” he said defensively.

“You didn’t say anything?!”

“I didn’t have anything to say!”

“How about ‘you’re important to me too’ or ‘thanks?’ No wonder you’re not a thing!”

“It was right after I almost got crushed to death, I had other things to worry about!”

“You’ve left him hanging that long?! That was before the war ended!”

“You say that like it’s been over more than three months.”

“Three months is a really long time to have a confession floating around in the void! Plus you getting crushed was months before we actually managed to win!”

“That wasn’t a confession.”

Duo raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Sounds an awful lot like one to me.”

“It was an admission. I knew I was important to him even though he hadn’t said anything. He knows he’s important to me.”

Duo rolled his eyes. “Fine. Have you _admitted_ that to him in return?”

Trowa looked down. “No.”

“Why don’t you start there and see where it gets you. Start small if you want. Kiss him back for once.”

Trowa thought over that for a moment.

“This is the part where you restore my faith in your intelligence and say that you do kiss him back sometimes. Please tell me you’re not that clueless about this.”

“I haven’t though.”

Duo threw his hands up in the air, frustration evident in the movement and his voice. “Oh my gosh, Trowa! I’d ask how Quatre hasn’t given up on you yet but that would be a dumb question because it’s Quatre!”

“What? We’ve been fine with how things are.”

“For now, yeah, but what about the future?”

“What about the future?”

“We didn’t die in the war, Trowa. Which means we have to start thinking about what to do with the rest of the time we’re alive. I can understand not saying anything during the war because nothing was guaranteed but you’ve had three months to sort yourself out. You’ll be alive for the rest of the foreseeable future. How are you gonna spend it?”

Trowa looked back to the doors Quatre had disappeared through earlier. “I… hadn’t thought about it,” he admitted quietly.

“Clearly,” Duo said, though he sounded more understanding and less exasperated. “Look, that was a little unfair. There’s still a lot going on and a lot of loose ends to tie up. Three months isn’t that long in regards to figuring out what to do with the rest of our lives, hell even I’m not absolutely sure what I’m doing, but you need to know it’s something you should start thinking about. When everything calms down I don’t want you to be blindsided and out of your depth trying to fit into a world you never planned or expected to be a part of. And I think it would be a lot easier to adjust if you had someone with you.”

“I…” Trowa sighed. “Thanks, Duo. I’ll think about it.”

Duo smiled and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “No problem, Man. I’m here anytime you need help!”

\-----

Trowa was miserable. He felt awful and uncomfortable and he just wanted it all to be over.

This was it. The man who’d survived the war- getting blown up and shot at multiple times- taken out by a fever.

He rolled onto his back and groaned, listening to the sounds of people and animals moving around outside the trailer. He’d been back at the circus for a few weeks, spending some time away from space and everyone related to it to clear his head for a bit. Unfortunately he’d fallen ill a few days ago and Cathy was quick to ban him from performing, saying that they’d survived without him before and could manage perfectly fine without him again until he recovered.

It was a sweet gesture but the stagnation was killing him.

She wouldn’t even let him help set up for the show that was starting in a few hours. She’d left him with a wet washcloth over his forehead and a couple books on the bedside table and told him not to get up unless he was using the bathroom or getting food that she’d left in the fridge for him.

He hated to admit it but he didn’t even have the energy to hold one of the books up, let alone get up and move around. All he could do was sleep, wake up to roll over and lament the state of his health, and go back to sleep.

He idly noted that the washcloth on his forehead had dried out and then sleep pulled him back under again.

He woke up some time later, drowsily noting a slight, warm pressure on his forehead before the sensation was replaced by something cool and refreshing. He turned his head toward the source and blearily opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear them. He wasn’t expecting to see Quatre sitting on a chair next to his bed but he also wasn’t terribly surprised. “Did you just kiss my forehead…?”

“Sure did,” Quatre smiled at him. “Cathy said you’ve been sick a couple days.”

“Just two. You weren’t supposed to be here until the weekend.” He sat up and the newly wetted washcloth slid off of his forehead and into his lap.

“I managed to finish things up quicker than I anticipated and thought I’d surprise you by dropping in a few days early. I would have waited if I’d known. You shouldn’t have to worry about a surprise early visitor while you’re sick.”

Trowa shook his head. “If you’d known you either wouldn’t have come at all so I could focus on getting better or you would have come with a small pharmacy of medicine and maybe a personal physician. I’m glad you’re here as you are.”

“You know I wouldn’t have missed coming to visit over a fever. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to entertain me.”

“I don’t.” Trowa grabbed one of the books off of the bedside table and handed it to Quatre before laying back down and putting the washcloth back on his forehead. “You’re going to entertain me.”

Quatre smiled and easily accepted the task. “Sounds like a plan.”

Trowa listened to Quatre read for a while and found himself drifting in and out of consciousness. Quatre didn’t seem to mind though, and he never stopped reading, even when- Trowa gathered based off of the fact that things stopped making sense at some point- he had slept through large sections of the storyline.

After one such return to the waking world, Trowa realized how much he actually liked waking up to seeing Quatre- how comfortable it felt. Trowa stared at him for a while, hearing his voice but not really processing his words.

He’d made himself comfortable, curled up in the chair and holding the book one handed, his other hand draped over the plush armrest. 

Trowa made a split second decision and slid one arm out from under the blankets. He’d offered physical contact to Quatre before but he’d never initiated it. He heard Duo’s words in his head, telling him to start small and this seemed as good a time as any. He reached over and grabbed Quatre’s free hand, pulling it closer and lacing their fingers together.

Quatre didn’t miss a beat, squeezing Trowa’s hand comfortingly. He continued reading, but there was a new shine in his eyes that had Trowa smiling to himself as he fell asleep again.

\-----

“Are you sure you don’t want me to cut your bangs more?”

“You’ve asked me that three times now.”

“Which should indicate that there is, in fact, a right answer that you keep missing.” Cathy ran her comb through his bangs deftly before moving behind him to regard him in the small mirror they’d set up in front of the stool Trowa was sitting on. “What are you gonna do when someone decides you’re handsome enough to look at that they want to spend time with you but your hair’s always in the way?” 

Trowa was only half listening, watching Quatre approach them from the corner of his eye. “If they decided I was handsome before they spent time with me then they never would’ve seen my hair out of my face anyway so your argument cancels itself out.”

Cathy combed her fingers through his hair and then pulled his bangs up out of his face, keeping them there so she could really see him. “Even if you just parted it differently so it wasn’t all in front of your eyes!” she cried. “You don’t have to cut it, you could just style it somehow. Hi Quatre,” she smiled.

“Hi, Cathy,” Quatre greeted before swooping to place a kiss on Trowa’s conveniently exposed forehead. “You could have woke me up, you know,” he half scolded.

Trowa felt Cathy’s hands twitch in his hair, but he ignored her obvious surprise. “You looked pretty content being dead to the world, and we didn’t have anything pressing to do. I figured you’d rather sleep than listen to Cathy tell me how I’m apparently styling my hair wrong.”

“You are!”

Quatre laughed. “You’ll never get him to do anything different,” he said to her, eyes twinkling. “He’s so stubborn.”

“If we both work on him then I think we could manage.”

“That might be a theory worth exploring,” he nodded. “I’m going to go take some pictures around the area since you’re busy. Find me when you’re done? We could go do lunch somewhere.”

Trowa nodded, not saying that he was basically done already. Cathy would probably want to talk to him for the next twenty minutes anyway. He could practically feel her desire to ask questions leaking into his skull from where her hands were flexing in his hair. “Okay.”

“Great,” Quatre smiled and then raised his hand in a wave as he walked away. “I’ll see you later then. Bye, Cathy!”

“Bye, Quatre!” She called after him.

They were both silent until Quatre had nearly disappeared from sight.

“Well it looks like someone already has decided you’re handsome enough to spend time with.”

“Yes, Cathy. My face is clearly the only reason Quatre and I have ever spent any time together and continues to be the only reason we keep in contact. There’s no other possible explanation for why Quatre came to visit.”

Catherine let go of his hair and lightly smacked his shoulder. “Are the two of you together? How come you didn’t tell me?”

Trowa stood and shook his hair out, dispelling any short strands leftover from being cut. “I’m not sure.”

“Not sure if you’re together or not sure why you didn’t tell me?”

“Both, I guess. I didn’t tell you because I’m not sure if we’re together.”

“Why not?”

“I think he’s waiting on me,” He said after a moment. He’d spent a lot more time thinking about things since Duo’s little motivational speech but he still wasn’t completely confident in his answer. It bothered him.

“And what are you waiting on?”

Trowa blinked and turned to look at her for a moment before looking away. “I’m… not sure.”

\-----

It was a disorienting feeling, being unsure. Trowa wasn’t used to it.

He was used to approaching everything with confidence and conviction- sure that whatever decision he made would be the best he could whether it resulted in death and carnage or survival. Being uncertain about something as non lethal as a relationship was… almost ridiculous.

Duo was right.

Carving a place for himself in a world he never planned to live in was difficult. There were still things to finish up, tasks that required his skills and experience, and he was content to do them.

But Quatre had already begun taking over his father’s company. He still helped out with anything they needed but the path was laid out plainly for anyone who cared to look. He would leave.

Sure they would talk every day and visit whenever they had the chance but it was inevitable. Distance would come between them. All of this thinking would go to waste- all of the feelings he’d been trying to name and all of the time he’d spent getting to know Quatre. Lost.

Was Trowa really okay with just letting that happen?

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, leaning his head onto the back of his chair.

Footsteps approached from behind him but he recognized the cadence and rhythm of them easily.

“Meeting starts in ten,” Quatre kissed his forehead softly. “I got you some coffee.” He held a warm mug out which Trowa took gratefully.

“Thanks.”

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Trowa shrugged. “Not sure they’re worth that much.”

“I can afford to waste some money,” Quatre teased and sat down next to him. 

“That’s hardly a sound mindset for a CEO,” Trowa joked halfheartedly.

“Only if it doesn’t pay off. I think some things are worth it no matter what though.”

Trowa took a drink of his coffee, turning Quatre’s words over in his head carefully. “If it’s worth it then it’s not a waste.”

Quatre smiled and took a sip of his own coffee. “You’re catching on.”

\-----

“So how are things with Quatre?” Duo said without preamble, flopping onto the couch next to him.

“I have a theory.”

“Oh?”

“He kisses my forehead anytime he sees it.”

“That’s… Not what I was expecting but go on,” Duo said, clearly bemused.

“I don’t think he realizes he does it. It doesn’t matter what he’s doing or saying, if he sees my forehead he stops and kisses me.”

“He kisses you all the time though.”

“But he doesn’t kiss my cheek every time he sees it. He’d never stop.”

“How would you ever manage to cope with that.” The sarcasm was obvious, but well meaning.

Trowa shrugged. “I’m just saying it’s something I’ve noticed.”

Duo was quiet for a moment before an impish grin spread over his face. “Wanna test it out?”

Trowa narrowed his eyes. “I’m not walking around with my hair pinned out of my face.”

“I’m not saying you have to. You don’t even have to get off this couch.” Duo was the picture of casual innocence.

The suspicion didn’t fade from Trowa’s face or his voice. “What did you have in mind?”

“Simple,” Duo’s grin came back full force. “Quat’s due to be here in about twenty minutes. We all know the first thing he’s gonna do is find you. All you have to do is happen to have your hair back when that happens. Boom. Theory tested.”

“And how do you propose I ‘happen’ to have my hair back?”

Duo batted his eyelashes ridiculously, a broad smile gracing his lips. “Have I ever told you how much I want to braid your hair?”

\-----

“I can’t believe I’m letting you do this.”

“If I’m being honest, I really can’t believe it either but you’ve already agreed so you can’t take it back.” Duo was perched on the back of the couch, having made Trowa scoot all the way to the edge of his seat so there was room for his legs on the cushions. He ran his hands through Trowa’s bangs a couple times before beginning the process of combing them back with his fingers. “I’m pretty stoked actually. I’ve been wanting to braid someone’s hair for a while.”

“You braid your own hair every day.”

“Yes, and it gets boring and repetitive. Heero told me no when I asked if I could do his and I’m pretty sure Wufei would actually murder me if I even asked him. That leaves you and Quatre, but he’s been busy with his CEO life the last few weeks. Plus, and I love the guy, but there’s not a lot to work with there. His hair’s too short and he keeps it too soft and clean to do anything with. Your hair though is ideal. I’m gonna be able to get a really good french braid out of your bangs. Tilt your head back.”

Trowa tilted his head back.

“The real issue here is that I know I’ll never be able to convince you to let me do this again, so do I really want to spend this once in a lifetime opportunity on a french braid? Or do I want to do something else? Do I want to do multiple french braids? I can’t get too fancy because I’ve only got this one section of hair to work with. Everything else is too short. What are your thoughts?”

“Just… do whatever you want. I’m not planning on keeping whatever you do for too long.”

“Tch. Killjoy. You’re no help at all. Look straight ahead.”

Trowa rolled his eyes and adjusted his head. “So sorry.”

“No, no, It’s fine,” Duo said, with an obvious sigh of lamentation on his breath. His hands were gentle as they manipulated Trowa’s hair, smoothing the strands out and weaving them together carefully. “You’re head’s too full of-”

“I can’t decide if I’m surprised or not,” Quatre’s voice interrupted Duo, thankfully before he could finish his likely embarrassing sentence, and Trowa and Duo both turned to see him standing in the doorway of the lounge, a soft smile on his face.

“Quatre!” Duo exclaimed brightly. He lifted one hand from Trowa’s hair and raised it in greeting. “Always nice to see you.”

Quatre’s smile widened to a grin and he strode forward to clasp Duo’s extended hand. “It’s good to see you too, Duo.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on Trowa’s forehead. “Hi Trowa.”

Duo didn’t give any obvious reaction to his experiment getting such solid results but Trowa did feel his knees digging into his back slightly more insistently. “Hi. How was your trip?”

“Ugh. Long. I’m gonna go dump my bags in my room and take a shower. You guys still gonna be here in an hour?”

Trowa shrugged but Duo spoke up from behind him. “Probably. Heero and Wufei know you’re here yet?”

Quatre shook his head. “I haven’t seen them.”

“I’ll go round them up and we’ll watch a movie or something. Kick off this faux vacation the right way.”

“I like the sound of that. Want me to order some pizzas before I shower so they’ll be ready to pick up by the time I get out?”

“There’s a reason you’re the one in charge of strategy you brilliant man,” Duo said, an obviously fake and over exaggerated flirtatious tone to his voice. “What I’d give to see what goes on in that beautiful brain of yours. It’s probably full of naughty things like business plans and math.”

Quatre groaned. “Too often, I’m afraid. But not for the next week! I haven’t been this excited to stay in a dingy old cottage in… ever!”

“Yeah yeah, you and your privileged little ass better get to ordering pizza and showering,” Duo playfully kicked at him with a socked foot. “Next time we decide to play recluse for a week you can pick and pay for the venue.”

“Okay,” Quatre agreed easily, smoothly stepping out of range of Duo’s foot. “We can make it an annual thing.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Trowa said honestly.

“Of course it’s not, it came from Quatre.” There was no bite to Duo’s voice, only a simple honesty that made Trowa wonder if he wasn’t the only one having trouble adjusting to life after the war. It wasn’t like Duo to beat around the bush but he seemed grateful for the idea that at least once a year they could get together and just let go, surrounded by friends- comrades- who would understand.

“I’ll start making some plans then,” Quatre smiled.

“For next year? Already?” Trowa raised an eyebrow.

“Unfortunately that’s what I’ll have to do to get guaranteed time. Things have been hectic and they look like they’ll only get busier. I wasn’t lying when I said I was excited for the break.” Quatre heaved a sigh so large that Trowa found himself holding his breath as well. When Quatre finally exhaled it was like months of stress fell off of his shoulders and he was as energetic as he’d ever been. “Or the shower. I feel disgusting.” Quatre kissed Trowa’s forehead again and clapped Duo on the shoulder. “Usual pizza order? Still leading a crusade against anchovies?”

“Until my dying breath,” Duo said seriously.

Quatre laughed as he moved toward the hallway leading toward the staircase and, by extension, the bedrooms. “Noted. See you guys in a bit.”

They listened to the sound of Quatre’s footsteps retreating upstairs and when they stopped, shortly followed by the sound of a door closing, Trowa felt Duo pulling on his hair. It didn’t hurt but it also left him no option but to tilt his head back.

Duo leaned over him, filling up his vision with very close upside down eye contact. “You know what that is? That is a result, that’s what that is.”

“So it would seem.”

“And? What are you going to do with this information?”

“I’m working on a plan.”

Duo blinked. “Are you really? I was half joking.”

“Yes really. You’re the one who told me to get my act together, don’t be so surprised.”

“Right. Sorry. I should probably let you get to it then.” Duo sat up and started undoing the partial braid in Trowa’s hair.

Trowa shook his head as much as Duo’s fingers pulling at his hair would allow. “No it’s okay. You can go ahead and finish.

Duo’s hands went still. “For real?”

Trowa nodded. “Mh-hm.”

The smile was clear in Duo’s voice. “Well alright then. Thanks, Man.”

\-----

The nice part about taking a week off with the other pilots was that they all had no trouble giving each other space. They had the perfect balance of together time and alone time, and there was no need to communicate when either instance was. 

Meals were, inarguably, time spent together. No one had declared that to be a rule but nobody started eating until everyone was present, and nobody tried to eat in their room away from everyone else.

Evenings were also ‘family time’ as Duo jokingly, but affectionately, called it. Whether they watched a movie or played games, or just sat and did their own things, occasionally making conversation, the last part of the day was spent together.

It was nice. Trowa was grateful for it.

He was also grateful for the time he got to spend by himself. It was different from when he was by himself at the circus or in space with the preventers. Here he was by himself but not alone. There’d been jokes made about it before but Trowa had to admit the simple truth: the safest place to be really was surrounded by four other gundam pilots.

It gave him a sense of security. No matter what happened, he wasn’t alone.

It helped that he could hear Duo and Heero’s voices drifting out of an open window, punctuated every now and then by Quatre’s laughter. Last night Duo had managed to finally convince Heero to let him braid his hair, partially due to the fact that Trowa’s hair had managed to look good by the time Duo was done with it, and today the all important braiding of Heero Yuy’s hair was the only thing on Duo’s schedule.

Wufei had gone to the nearest town to buy ingredients for a dish he wanted to make for dinner and Trowa had said he planned to spend the day, or most of it anyway, chopping firewood for the wood burning stove responsible for heating the cottage. Quatre, of course, understood that meant Trowa wanted some time to himself and happily invited himself to watch Heero get his hair done.

Trowa liked the physical activity. It was a pleasant change from the exercise he got from practicing his acrobatics for the circus or his combat skills for the preventers. Those skills were both important and he didn’t dislike training for them by any means but there was something very gratifying about the short term goal and instant results of chopping firewood.

Why was he doing it? Because they needed firewood.

When would he be done? When they had enough firewood. 

It was early fall so it really only got cold at night and in the early mornings. Trowa eyed the pile of wood he’d already chopped and then looked at the stack of logs yet to be done. He probably only needed to do three or four more to last the next couple of days. He also needed to haul the ones he’d done inside though and before he even thought about doing that he wanted a glass of water and a break.

He thunked his axe into the tree stump he’d been working on and then straightened up, running a hand through his sweaty bangs to get them out of his face-

And there was Quatre with a glass of water, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I figured you’d need a break.”

“Thanks.” Trowa didn’t try to stop the small smile that tugged on the corners of his lips as he took the glass from him. “Do you know you do that?”

“Do what?”

Trowa took a long drink of water. “Kiss my forehead.”

Quatre smiled, bemused. “I’m pretty sure I know I kiss you, Trowa.”

“Do you know you kiss my forehead every time you see it?”

“I… every time? Surely not.”

Trowa nodded. “Every time.”

“Oh.” Quatre blinked and shifted his weight from foot to foot and Trowa could see the question forming.

“I’m not complaining,” he said, getting a strong sense of deja vu. He was sure they’d had this conversation before.

“Okay. Cause I’d stop if you wanted me to. You know that, right?”

“Please don’t. I quite enjoy them. In fact I’d like more kisses more often. I didn’t realize how starved for affection I was until I started getting it from you. But I don’t really want it from anyone else. Just you.”

Quatre blushed and scratched at the back of his neck but he didn’t shy away. “How could I say no to that when you said it so honestly?”

“I can be more honest.” Trowa drained the rest of his water and sat his glass down on the tree stump next to the axe. He took a step closer to Quatre, squarely into his space. “You’ve kissed almost every spot on my face except one.”

“Have I?” Quatre’s face grew redder and his eyes were wide. He didn’t seem nervous though, just… surprised.

Trowa nodded. He brought a hand up to tilt Quatre’s head up by his chin. “Just one.” He traced his thumb lightly over Quatre’s bottom lip. “You wanna guess which one?”

“I think you’re going to tell me anyway.” 

Trowa could feel Quatre’s lips moving against the pad of his thumb, could feel his heated breath ghosting out. It was a heady feeling- almost vertigo inducing. For a moment he felt like he couldn’t breathe, let alone get words out.

So he didn’t try.

He leaned in, sliding his hand from Quatre’s chin to cup his cheek and bringing his other hand up to do the same, and kissed him. 

Quatre leaned into him, pushing up onto his toes to be closer and Trowa felt his hands gripping the sides of his shirt. The kiss wasn’t shy but it was soft- born of a desire to take things slow and the knowledge that they could, rather than hesitance to cross any lines.

Trowa pulled back, only enough to breathe, and said quietly “Showing’s always been easier than telling.”

Quatre huffed out a laugh and Trowa felt his breath fanning across his face. “I’m aware. It was fairly obvious from the beginning.”

“How obvious?”

“The flute was a pretty good clue.”

Trowa grinned and kissed him again. 

When they broke apart again, Quatre lowered back onto his heels and Trowa followed, leaning their foreheads together. “What is this, Quatre? What are we doing?” He dropped his hands down to Quatre’s hips running his thumbs over his hip bones lightly.

“Personally,” Quatre ran his hands up Trowa’s sides, placing them on his shoulders. “I’m not too particular on what we say this is as long as we’re doing it together. I know our schedules don’t line up very often but… I’m all in. One hundred percent, Trowa. It’s just you. Just… us. If that’s okay with you.”

“That is the most okay with me thing I’ve heard in my entire life. I’m in one hundred percent too.” Trowa stared into Quatre’s eyes and he felt like he was standing on the edge of the rest of his life. Everything he’d done until now had led up to this. From the first moment he surrendered to Quatre he had offered himself up for a lifetime of surrendering to Quatre. When he thought about it, it was what he’d been doing since they met. He could think of no reason now not to continue doing just that. “It’s always just been you. It always will be.”

Quatre’s smile was blinding. “I knew you were a giant sap.”

“Only for you.”

Quatre rolled his eyes but he didn’t stop smiling. “Kiss me again, you romantic fool.”

And Trowa surrendered once again.

From an open window in the cottage he heard a wolf whistle, followed by Duo’s distinctive voice yelling “Finally!” and Trowa couldn’t help but agree.

Finally.

**Author's Note:**

> The entire reason I wrote this fic was the bit where Quatre is like "Why didn't you tell me you have a forehead?" and kisses Trowa. The rest of it is just gravy.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope to be able to finish some of my other 3x4 fics I have sitting in my drafts sometime soon!


End file.
